1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arrangement of headrest stay holder and holder bracket in a vehicle seat, the holder bracket being adapted to receive and support the headrest stay holder therein. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an arrangement of headrest stay holder and holder bracket in the top of a seat back of the vehicle seat, which allows the headrest stay holder to be securely supported in and easily removed from the holder bracket.
2. Description of Prior Art
In general, a vehicle or automotive seat is provided with a headrest having a pair of rod-like headrest stays projected downwardly therefrom, and the headrest is securely mounted on the top of seat back of that seat, such that its pair of headrest stays are inserted in two headrest stay holders embedded in the seat back, respectively.
As typically disclosed in the Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Pub. No. 61-163551, a pair of headrest stay holders of this kind are fixed in a part of seat back frame within a seat back of automotive seat and are each of a locking structure for allowing each of two stays of headrest to be inserted and locked therein. The headrest stay holders represented in this manner are more or less formed from a synthetic resin material in a generally "T" shape in the longitudinal section, having a head portion great in diameter relative to the tubular body thereof, wherein the tubular body is dimensioned to receive the headrest stay therein and has a split lower end portion defined by a pair of opposed slit-like notches, so that the split lower end portion can be elastically collapsed. This split lower end portion is formed with a pair of downwardly tapered anchor pieces. According to this prior art, the seat frame has a hole slightly greater in diameter than the tubular body of headrest stay holder. Hence, in assembly, when inserting the headrest stay holder into such hole of seat frame, its split end portion is resiliently collapsed within the tubular body of holder, making thus small a total diameter thereof including its two anchor pieces, relative to the inner diameter of the hole. In that way, the whole tubular body of headrest stay holder can be slid through the hole. Then, a worker in this assembly continues to insert on the tubular body in the hole until its split end portion and anchor pieces project from the opposite side of hole to the inside of seat back, whereby the split end portion recovers its normal diameter from the collapsed state to expand the anchor pieces outwardly beyond the diameter of hole, thereby locking the headrest stay holders in the hole against removal therefrom.
Recent days witness a recycle tendency in many manufacturers to reuse industrial waste materials for further production purposes. The same goes for the vehicle seat production circles, and it has become necessary to take apart the seat into some reusable elements before disposal. This recycle tendency therefore requires a seat that can be easily disassembled to obtain reusable elements with minimized damages.
The above-stated structure of headrest stay holders certainly meets this recycle demand, as the split end portion as well as its associated anchor pieces of the holder can be elastically contracted to a diameter smaller than the hole of seat frame, and thus, the holder itself can be removed from the hole for reuse purpose.
However, in a practical seat disassembling process, a worker encounters the difficulty for access to the elastic split end portion of headrest stay holder which is located within the seat back. This means that the worker must tear and destroy a corresponding part of the upholding layers of seat (which comprises a trim cover assembly, a foam padding layer and other layers) to create an opening therein, and then reach his or her hand via such opening to the split end portion of headrest stay holder in order to unlock the holder from the seat frame. At this step, the worker inevitably suffers from time-consuming, troublesome or dangerous labors, in that he or she must feel out and contract the holder end portion with his or her hand, in an invisible manner, which will result in an inaccurate removal of the holders, giving a damage thereto, and may involve a highly potential danger to the worker's hand, and in that he or she must apply an extraordinary strong force, with the fingers, to the holder end portion in an effort to contract the same, which may involve an undesired fatigue problem and make slow the disassebling work, and also involve a physical damage problem, as well.